classic car – Pulpaddict

Hot Wheels Legends Tour 2025: Hunt for new vehicle to reimagine as a die-cast model

UK petrolheads have their chance to make their mark on global car culture as the Hot Wheels Legends Tour returns for 2025.

Now in its eighth year globally and fifth year in the UK, classic car modifiers and restorers, race car builders, JDM tuners, alongside truck and custom car constructors can now enter the competition for the chance to have their vehicle reimagined as a 1:64 scale die-cast model and become inducted into the revered Hot Wheels Garage of Legends.

New for 2025, the UK winner will also be flown to El Segundo, California, to experience the last stop of the US Hot Wheels Legends Tour.

Judged by Hot Wheels designer Craig Callum, YouTuber Mat Armstrong and presenter Nicola Hume and in partnership with Smyths Toys Superstores, Forge Motorsport and Collecting Cars, Hot Wheels will seek out entries that embody authenticity, creativity and the unmistakable ‘garage spirit’.

Vehicles of all shapes, sizes and ages are eligible, including restomods, racing cars, custom classics, drag racers, off-roaders and trucks. Entry is simple and quick. Just upload three images and a short description at hotwheelshuklegendstour.co.uk required.

Hot Wheels facts

Founded in 1968, Hot Wheels is the number one selling toy worldwide with over 16 cars sold every second
Hot Wheels continues to be a key influence on car culture, inspiring full-scale designers, car builders and tuners
Hot Wheels is all about the challenger spirit – its founder Elliot Handler embodied that spirit when he founded Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels’ original design team included a car designer and a rocket scientist. They had a brief to create a toy car that was cooler and performed better than the competition
The inaugural set was called ‘Sweet 16’ and today is highly coveted. It featured a mix of custom cars and ‘rods
To date, over eight billion have been sold
The most valuable Hot Wheels car is said to be the ‘Beach Bomb’ VW bus in pink. Never released to the public, its value has been estimated at $150,000.
In 2025 Hot Wheels announced collaborations with both Formula One and Ferrari
Hot Wheels is the leading die-cast brand in the UK, available at Smyths Toys, The Entertainer, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and independent toy shops

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First sustainable fuel for classic vehicles launched

The UK’s first publicly available sustainable petrol designed specifically for classic vehicles has gone on sale.

The Sustain Classic range will allow motorists to fuel their vintage vehicles with plant-based petrol, without any modifications to their engines, with three types of fuel initially available.

Developed by fuel specialist Coryton, the fuel with the highest sustainable content promises a reduction of at least 65% in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to fossil fuels.

The pioneering products use advanced second-generation biofuel manufactured from agricultural waste, such as straw, by-products or waste from crops which wouldn’t be used for consumption.

By doing so, the fuel utilises the carbon that already exists in our atmosphere, which the plants absorb as they grow, recycling it, rather than releasing additional CO2 that is currently locked underground in fossil fuel.

With an octane number >98 and bio-ethanol content of <1%, Sustain Classic has been technically tailored for classic vehicles, although it can be used on any vehicle which runs on standard forecourt petrol. It’s also formulated with a premium additive package included, which stabilises and extends the life of the fuel and helps clean and protect the engines.

Priced from £3.80 per litre, Sustain Classic will be available from distributor Motor Spirit at Bicester Heritage from 13th June, with more stockists launching across the UK in the coming months.

There are currently three variants of the drop-in replacement fuel available. All are suitable for all year-round use.

Super 80

Created at least 80% renewable content
Delivers a GHG saving of more than 65%, compared to fossil fuels
98RON (Super Unleaded) EN228 Compliant
Multifunctional deposit control additive package reduces existing deposits and maintains engine cleanliness and performance with regular use
Priced from £4.65 per litre

Super 33

Created at least 33% sustainable content
Delivers a GHG saving of more than 25%, compared to fossil fuels
98RON (Super Unleaded) EN228 Compliant
Multifunctional deposit control additive package reduces existing deposits and maintains engine cleanliness and performance with regular use
Priced from £3.80 per litre

Racing 50

High performance sustainable petrol ideal for performance and racing use in vehicles that require a higher-octane fuel
Created at least 50% renewable content
Delivers a GHG saving of more than 35%, compared to fossil fuels
102RON, for high octane applications, EN228 Compliant
Premium deposit control additives reduce existing deposits and maintain engine cleanliness and performance with regular use
Priced from £5.24 per litre

The fuels range from at least 33% sustainable content to at least 80%. “Every kilogram of CO2 we avoid adding to our atmosphere, by replacing fossil fuel with sustainable fuel, is a win,” said David Richardson, Business Development Director at Coryton.

“We don’t instantly have to go for the full switch to start making a genuine impact. As more feedstocks become available, these fuels will start to contain even higher levels of traceable sustainable elements.

“However, we want to keep things as affordable as possible for consumers and be open about what’s actually achievable at the moment.

“The availability of true fossil free fuel components is limited. So, we’re setting truthful and realistic goals, producing fuels that have a meaningful impact whilst meeting the demands of the user.”

Guy Lachlan, who heads up Motor Spirit at Bicester Heritage (one of the distributors of Sustain Classic), added: “We’re very excited to be the launch partner for Coryton’s Sustain Classic fuel.

“It is vital for the future of Classic Cars and Motorcycles that environmentally-friendly liquid fuels are commercially available, and Motor Spirit’s facility at Bicester Heritage is the perfect location to start an environmental revolution.

“Sustain Classic represents the best available combination of usability, sustainability and quality: exactly in line with Motor Spirit’s ethos.”

Meet the most expensive car ever sold at £114m

The “Mona Lisa” of cars – a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé – has been auctioned by RM Sotheby’s for a record amount.

One of two Coupés ever built, it was the sister car to Stirling Moss’s iconic Mille Miglia-record-breaking, open-cockpit 300 SLR.

Both 300 SLR Coupés had remained at Mercedes-Benz since new. This car has been mostly kept in storage and has only covered 6,045km covered in its entire lifetime.

Simon Kidston and the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR

The winning bid was made by British expert and dealer Simon Kidston on behalf of a client, after lobbying the board of Mercedes-Benz for 18 months to consider selling the car.

All the money raised will benefit a charitable fund being set up by Mercedes-Benz.

It had always been assumed that Mercedes would never part with one of the crown jewels of its company collection, considered the ‘Mona Lisa’ of cars because of its rarity, racing pedigree, beauty and unavailability.

The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé was a development of the open two-seat sports-racing car built by Mercedes for the 1955 season and driven by Grand Prix greats such as Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and Peter Collins.

Heavily based on the company’s all-conquering W196 Grand Prix single-seater, the W196 S sports car was powered by a 302bhp, 3.0-litre straight-eight of great complexity, and dominated the 1955 World Sportscar Championship.

Moss’s record drive on the 1955 Mille Miglia has been described as one of the greatest-ever feats of motor racing.

Neither 300 SLR Coupé was raced, though they were used for practice. A road test jointly conducted by British magazine Autocar and Swiss periodical Automobil Revue in 1956 produced the following figures: 0-60mph 6.9sec; 0-120mph in 20.3sec; maximum speed 176.47mph.

“If you had asked classic car experts and top collectors over the past half a century to name the most desirable car in the world, there’s a good chance that they would have come up with the same model: the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR,” explained Simon Kidston.

“It’s a combination of exotic engineering, all-conquering racing history, the power of the three-pointed star on its nose and the fact that one had never, ever been sold. Many collectors had tried, all had failed.

“That was what the entire motoring world thought, but times change, and if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.”

Top 10 most searched-for classic cars

Gareth Herincx

1 week ago
Auto News

The Ford Escort was the most searched-for car in 2021, according to Car & Classic – the classified and online auction website.

‘Dream cars’ such as the Porsche 911 and Jaguar E-Type, lead the search data during the pandemic, but 2021 saw classic car fans seeking more mainstream vehicles including the BMW 3 Series.

Across 2021, the Ford Escort toppled the Porsche 911, with the RS2000 the model most searched-for from the European Escort’s 34-year lifetime.

Recent Escort auction sales on Car & Classic include £25,500 for a Mk3 RS1600i (pictured) and £50,000 for a Mk1 Twin Cam.

Over the past 12 months, searches for the Triumph Stag more than doubled, securing third place.

It was closely followed by the 1980s’ E30 version of BMW 3 Series. More than a quarter of the specific searches for the compact saloon were for the iconic M3.

The rise in searches for the E30, up nearly 20% on 2020, follows sharp rises in the values for the M3 over the past five years. Published prices of the 24 road cars currently on Car & Classic span £40,000 to £189,000.

Other cars in the top 10 include the Ford Mustang and Jaguar E-Type, both growing by 10%. Slipping down the order, despite a similar number of searches in 2020, was the MGB GT.

Underlining rising demand for Japanese sports cars, the Toyota Supra and MR2, plus the Mazda RX-7 and Datsun 240Z all appeared in the top 20 searches of 2021.

Top 10 searches of 2021

Ford Escort
Porsche 911
Triumph Stag
E30 BMW 3 Series
Ford Mustang
Jaguar E-Type
Ford Capri
VW Beetle
MGB GT
MGB

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